Being a travel writer has its perks. Travel publications pay well and on time, and once those initial articles are published, free trips start rolling in courtesy of public relations firms. But how do you acquire those first few published articles?

Pick Locations Wisely

Know your fellow countrymen. United States residents prefer the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico, so U.S. travel magazines prefer stories on these regions. While Taipei may intrigue you, these other stories improve your odds of a sale.

Party Crashing ​Tourism boards, like Atout France or the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, will host events in big cities like Los Angeles or New York to give updates about the latest news in tourism, like new airports or hotel openings. You can use the information given at these events to write an article, even if you’ve never been to the country hosting the event.Typically, attendees are invited via their publications, but emailing different tourism boards can land you an invite. Follow them on Twitter to find out when they’ll be hosting events and shoot them an email request a few weeks in advance.